Algeria's fiesty press bucks trend in Arab media
By Lamine Chikhi
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian newspaper columnist Hakim Laalam pours scorn on his country's leaders in a way most journalists in the Arab world would never dream of doing.
In his daily column, he describes the energy minister as deaf as a post, castigates the industry minister for seeking medical treatment in Switzerland and refers to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika by the derogative nickname "Abdekka."
Undeterred by a conviction four years ago for defaming the president -- his six-month prison term was changed to a suspended sentence on appeal -- Laalam sees no taboos that the press should not break.
"Anyone who is in the public eye belongs to me," the journalist, whose column is printed in the Soir d'Algerie paper, told Reuters. "If he is in authority ... I believe I have every right to mock and laugh at him. It's the price he has to pay."
Media in most of the Arab world are muzzled by official censorship, outright intimidation or subtle pressure but Algeria's leading newspapers stand out for the role they have taken on as feisty and outspoken champions of free speech.
Algerian newspapers are unusual for another reason too: the biggest titles have established themselves as thriving businesses with huge circulations and healthy advertising revenue -- all the time while rejecting state control.
Algeria's biggest newspaper, Echorouk, says it sells 800,000 copies a day and its nearest rival, El Khabar, says it has a daily circulation of 500,000.
For comparison, in neighbouring Morocco with a population about the same size as Algeria, the biggest newspaper has a daily circulation of 100,000.
In Egypt meanwhile, the Arab world's most populous state with more than twice as many people as Algeria, the biggest daily newspaper, Al Ahram, sells about 1 million copies a day, according to think tank the Carnegie Endowment.
Algerian newspapers' robust business model gives them a freedom to criticise their own rulers which daily titles elsewhere in the region, many of them either financially insecure or dependent on state support, do not enjoy.
"In the Arab world, a journalist is free to criticize Israel but not Arab presidents and kings. Well, in Algeria we can criticize Bouteflika, the generals and the Islamists," said Mohamed Lagab, who teaches journalism at Algiers University.
BOLD PRINT
The relative freedom of Algeria's press dates back to 1990, when President Chadli Bendjedid, under pressure from low oil prices and popular unrest, lifted restrictions on free enterprise, multi-party elections and the private media.
Since then Algeria has been convulsed by a conflict between security forces and Islamist rebels that killed an estimated 200,000 people, and some of the liberalising policies have been reversed. But newspapers have largely preserved their gains.
It has not been easy. More than 100 journalists were killed by militants at the height of the violence. Journalists are occasionally prosecuted for defaming officials. One opposition newspaper closed down after its owner was jailed for financial irregularities.
"(Bouteflika) doesn't like the independent press," said Kamel Amarni, secretary-general of the National Union of Journalists. "During his 11 years as president .. (he) has held only one press conference in Algeria."
Still, newspapers in Algeria, an energy exporting former French colony of 35 million people, can be bolder than most publications in the Arab world.
In July the French-language El Watan newspaper reported that the son of a minister was under criminal investigation. The minister demanded an immediate retraction. The paper's response was to repeat the allegation in the next day's edition.
The same newspaper marked the annual congress of the FLN ruling party by publishing a cartoon that depicted its members as so old and infirm that they couldn't stand without shaking uncontrollably.
"Algerian journalists are very courageous," said Mounir Zaghrour, Middle East and Arab world specialist at the International Federation of Journalists in Brussels.
BIG BUSINESS
Algeria's newspapers are helped by the fact that, unlike in many other Arab countries, television does not seriously compete with them as a source of national news.
All terrestrial channels are state-owned and long sections of their news bulletins are taken up with reading government announcements, turning off many viewers. That leaves the marketplace free for newspapers to exploit.
Echorouk's office is a plush oasis of marbled floors, the latest computer equipment and BlackBerry smartphones lying on desks. In the car park outside is a fleet of dozens of new cars to ferry the journalists around.
"According to several independent press bodies, we are number one in the Arab world in terms of circulation," editor and owner of Eshorouk Ali Fodil told Reuters.
The smaller-circulation El Khabar has 250 staff and 90 freelancers, an annual turnover of 1.6 billion Algerian dinars ($21.3 million), and plush offices in a chic neighbourhood of the capital, Algiers.
The paper, which is controlled by a collective of journalists and former staff, also owns three state-of-the-art printing presses which it shares with El Watan. Most other newspapers are printed on state-owned presses.
The chairman of El Khabar's board, Zahredine Smati, said making the newspaper economically viable gave it the independence to criticise the authorities.
"One day or another, the state will put pressure on you," he said. "If you want to do the job in a professional way, you must not rely on the state's resources."
Copyright © 2010 Reuters
By Lamine Chikhi
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian newspaper columnist Hakim Laalam pours scorn on his country's leaders in a way most journalists in the Arab world would never dream of doing.
In his daily column, he describes the energy minister as deaf as a post, castigates the industry minister for seeking medical treatment in Switzerland and refers to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika by the derogative nickname "Abdekka."
Undeterred by a conviction four years ago for defaming the president -- his six-month prison term was changed to a suspended sentence on appeal -- Laalam sees no taboos that the press should not break.
"Anyone who is in the public eye belongs to me," the journalist, whose column is printed in the Soir d'Algerie paper, told Reuters. "If he is in authority ... I believe I have every right to mock and laugh at him. It's the price he has to pay."
Media in most of the Arab world are muzzled by official censorship, outright intimidation or subtle pressure but Algeria's leading newspapers stand out for the role they have taken on as feisty and outspoken champions of free speech.
Algerian newspapers are unusual for another reason too: the biggest titles have established themselves as thriving businesses with huge circulations and healthy advertising revenue -- all the time while rejecting state control.
Algeria's biggest newspaper, Echorouk, says it sells 800,000 copies a day and its nearest rival, El Khabar, says it has a daily circulation of 500,000.
For comparison, in neighbouring Morocco with a population about the same size as Algeria, the biggest newspaper has a daily circulation of 100,000.
In Egypt meanwhile, the Arab world's most populous state with more than twice as many people as Algeria, the biggest daily newspaper, Al Ahram, sells about 1 million copies a day, according to think tank the Carnegie Endowment.
Algerian newspapers' robust business model gives them a freedom to criticise their own rulers which daily titles elsewhere in the region, many of them either financially insecure or dependent on state support, do not enjoy.
"In the Arab world, a journalist is free to criticize Israel but not Arab presidents and kings. Well, in Algeria we can criticize Bouteflika, the generals and the Islamists," said Mohamed Lagab, who teaches journalism at Algiers University.
BOLD PRINT
The relative freedom of Algeria's press dates back to 1990, when President Chadli Bendjedid, under pressure from low oil prices and popular unrest, lifted restrictions on free enterprise, multi-party elections and the private media.
Since then Algeria has been convulsed by a conflict between security forces and Islamist rebels that killed an estimated 200,000 people, and some of the liberalising policies have been reversed. But newspapers have largely preserved their gains.
It has not been easy. More than 100 journalists were killed by militants at the height of the violence. Journalists are occasionally prosecuted for defaming officials. One opposition newspaper closed down after its owner was jailed for financial irregularities.
"(Bouteflika) doesn't like the independent press," said Kamel Amarni, secretary-general of the National Union of Journalists. "During his 11 years as president .. (he) has held only one press conference in Algeria."
Still, newspapers in Algeria, an energy exporting former French colony of 35 million people, can be bolder than most publications in the Arab world.
In July the French-language El Watan newspaper reported that the son of a minister was under criminal investigation. The minister demanded an immediate retraction. The paper's response was to repeat the allegation in the next day's edition.
The same newspaper marked the annual congress of the FLN ruling party by publishing a cartoon that depicted its members as so old and infirm that they couldn't stand without shaking uncontrollably.
"Algerian journalists are very courageous," said Mounir Zaghrour, Middle East and Arab world specialist at the International Federation of Journalists in Brussels.
BIG BUSINESS
Algeria's newspapers are helped by the fact that, unlike in many other Arab countries, television does not seriously compete with them as a source of national news.
All terrestrial channels are state-owned and long sections of their news bulletins are taken up with reading government announcements, turning off many viewers. That leaves the marketplace free for newspapers to exploit.
Echorouk's office is a plush oasis of marbled floors, the latest computer equipment and BlackBerry smartphones lying on desks. In the car park outside is a fleet of dozens of new cars to ferry the journalists around.
"According to several independent press bodies, we are number one in the Arab world in terms of circulation," editor and owner of Eshorouk Ali Fodil told Reuters.
The smaller-circulation El Khabar has 250 staff and 90 freelancers, an annual turnover of 1.6 billion Algerian dinars ($21.3 million), and plush offices in a chic neighbourhood of the capital, Algiers.
The paper, which is controlled by a collective of journalists and former staff, also owns three state-of-the-art printing presses which it shares with El Watan. Most other newspapers are printed on state-owned presses.
The chairman of El Khabar's board, Zahredine Smati, said making the newspaper economically viable gave it the independence to criticise the authorities.
"One day or another, the state will put pressure on you," he said. "If you want to do the job in a professional way, you must not rely on the state's resources."
Copyright © 2010 Reuters
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